Ukraine demands Russia permit activities of Crimean Tatar Mejlis
Ukraine wants Russia to stop the persecution of Crimean Tatars and to restore the activity of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people as part of its lawsuit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague (Netherlands) against Russia over acts of terrorism, and discrimination in the course of its illegal aggression against Ukraine.
"We demand they immediately cease violations of the Convention [on discrimination] and take all the necessary measures to protect all ethnic groups in the occupied Crimea, in particular, the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians. They should immediately resume the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, take measures to prevent further disappearances, killings and torture of the Crimean Tatars, as well as to resume the activities of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian mass media and educational institutions on the territory of Crimea annexed by Russia," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said during a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The minister stressed that Russia violates the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination through participating in a campaign of discrimination of non-Russian community living in the occupied Crimean peninsula, in particular ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, which was manifested in the prohibition of the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, a wave of disappearances, murders arbitrary searches, arrests, attempts to stop broadcast of media, as well as restrictions on the teaching of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages.
"Of course, we want compensation for the damage. And that the world, which in this case is represented by the International Court of Justice, should clearly state that Russia has violated international law," Klimkin said.
Ukraine's foreign minister says if Russia commits new crimes, Ukraine will file new lawsuits against the state.